1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for delivering multimedia services.
2. Description of the Related Art
In network communications, general packet radio services (GPRS) is a packet-based wireless communications service that provides a substantially continuous internet connections to mobile devices. GPRS is a protocol that enables data to be communicated and exchanged over a private or public network of mobile devices, e.g., mobile phones. Typically, data that is transmitted and received in a network that supports GPRS is transmission control protocol (TCP) or internet protocol (IP) based. As the use of GPRS increases, mobile subscribers who access private data networks (PDNs) or virtual private networks (VPNs), for example, have the ability to be substantially continuously connected to VPNs in a wireless manner.
To use GPRS, a mobile device such as a mobile phone activates a packet data protocol (PDP) context. In activating a PDP context, an access point is selected. An access point for GPRS may be an IP, or internal packet, network to which a mobile device is connected. An access point for GPRS may generally be a connection to the internet The access point may be used in a domain name service (DNS) query to a private DNS network.
Mobile operators, e.g., universal mobile telecommunication system (UTMS) operators, use access point names (APNs) to provide mobile subscribes with a variety of services. APN profiles are administered at gateway GPRS support or service nodes (GGSNs) which support edge routing functions within networks that utilize GPRS. A GGSN generally provides an interface between a GPRS wireless data network and other networks.
When an access point which is within reach of a GGSN is identified for the first time, or when there is a change in the set of access points that are within reach of the GGSN, a network administrator generally modifies APN profiles stored on the GGSN to identify the access point. The modification of APN profiles may occur locally via a command line interface.
As the number of access points within networks increases, the number of APNs that need to be provisioned within GGSNs also increases. Manually administering and modifying APN profiles for a GGSN each time information pertaining to associated access points is updated, e.g., when the reachability of an access point changes, is inefficient. Processing updates of APN profiles is time-consuming, and the manual process of administering and modifying APN profiles is inflexible and error prone. Further, for a particular access point that is associated with multiple GGSNs, the APN information for the access point is manually provided to each of the GGSNs, which is also time-consuming.
Therefore, what is needed is a system which enables the administration and modification of APNs to be done substantially dynamically. That is, what is desired is a system which enables APNs to be administered and modified at a centralized location, and then distributed to GGSNs that are associated with the APNs.